Little Red, A Mockery
by Odi et amo
Summary: When Shikon no Tama high throws a modernized Little Red Riding hood play, a unwilling Rin is chosen to play Red. But unforunately for her, the axweilding savior is....SESSHOMARU!
1. In the beginning,there was message board

Rin Takami shoved her way through the crowds of Shikon no Tama high school, and made her slow way to the announcement board to see what all the fuss was about. It was unusual for the student body to gather up in one spot all at the same time unless an assembly was going on, and curiousity was getting the better of her. A strange hand reached out and grabbed hers to pull her forward and she wasn't sure whether to shreak in shock or breath a sigh of thanks. Upon seeing who it was though she gave that sigh wind and smiled up at her helper.

Her best friend in the entire world, Souta Taijiya smiled down at her and wrapped and arm around her to drag her closer to the board. For once she was gratelful that he was so adept at sneaking in, out, and through places, especially cramped ones. Although she knew she would tease him later for his ninja-like moves.

And then she was there, staring in shock at the reason the rest of the student body was so excited.

A _play?_ They were swarming about and generating a ton of heat that can only come from tons of people standing too close to each other for comfort over a ridiculous _play!_

Oh, but not just any play. Her eyes fell to the bottom of the poster. It was a play being held by the drama department. _And, _to make matters worse, it was supposed to be a modernized "Little Red Riding Hood."

Her mouth fell open in shock, then twisted in disgust.

How _dare _they try to rewrite a story hundreds of years old! How dare they revise a children's classic for their petty whims and actually expect the school to be willing to participate, and go see it! Was the board of directors a bunch of incompetant ninnies!

She took one look at the excitedly chattering crowd around her and rolled her eyes.

But of course they were ninnies. And obviously the entire student body was too.

She became vaguely aware of Kohaku saying something to her, and she tried to focus on it.

"...looks like blocks two, three, and seven are expected to be the participants in it. I guess that's good seeing as the first two are ninth and tenth graders, and the last is eleventh and twelth. I think they're trying to promote student unity thanks to different grade levels not speaking to each other."

Blocks two, three and seven? But...she and Kohaku were in block two! That meant...

"I'm gonna try my hand at stage decorator. But if they make me act I'll do it..."

She slugged him in the arm right as a rather large fellow with silvery white hair backed into her after having one of his friends shove him. Kohaku quickly removed his arm and put out a hand to help the guy keep his balance and from crushing Rin between them. He didn't seem to need the help, or aknowledge it as two large arms came forward and shoved the person who had pushed him.

"Don't fucking touch me Jakotsu!" He said sharply, his voice cold. Rin glared at his large back, disliking the idea of some careless giant trying to squish her, even if it was on accident. She grabbed his arm and he whirled around, oddly cold golden eyes scanning the crowd for the person who had grabbed him. She coughed to gain his attention and he looked down, his eyebrows shooting up in shock.

She fisted her hands on her hips.

"Look, I know you're friend pushed you, but could you be a little more practiced with your balance and refrain from trying to squish people?" She said sharply. His teeth flashed in a dangerous grin, exposing two pointed canines. Coupled with the markings on his face and his unusual coloring Rin guessed he was a youkai.

"Oh of course miss." He said, his detached voice sounding faintly sarcastic. "I'll remember that the next time a midget like you remembers to stay out of my way."

He turned back around and walked off, leaving Rin with her mouth hanging open from shock.

Why of all the nerve...MIDGET!

"So I was thinking you'd make an excellent Red Riding Hood, seeing as she is a child in the story, and you're only 5'2." Came Kohaku's voice. She turned and gave him a tense smile.

"Maybe..." She answered him.

_'When hell freezes over...' _She thought.

oooooooooo

I know, I know, ridiculously short chapter, I'm working on another Sess/Rin fic, as well as a Draco/Hermione one, but the idea popped up in my head and I thought '_Why not?_'' And then of course, I just _had _to write this rather pathetic proloque. So now I have three fanfics I'm obsessed with, as well as about four original stories I'm working on, coupled with a roleplay a friend and I are doing... I think it's safe to say I write too much. And I read too much. And that I should probably slow down a little. But like I said, this idea went in my head and would _not _go away. I even threatened to beat it up with a stick:nods:

So yeah, read and review please. I promise to update my other stuff too! I won't forget!


	2. Plays of doom

"...and we need full cooperation. Unfortunately..."

The teachers voice just seemed to drone on and on, boring her already fuzzy mind. It wasn't as though drama class really taught her anything. Rin had always been an avid fan of nearly every play, movie, opera, novel, or anything that involved characters getting into circumstances beyond their control. But she would rather have learned things on her own time, making a class she thought she would have loved, a big time downer.

Kohaku was doing no better. He had stopped taking notes a whil ago, prefering to stare at the wall. So far the teacher had said nthing of interest about the play except that it wasn't the conventional tale of little red riding hood. Instead she had done a little research and had found a play version of it written that featured little red as an adult. The story line was basically the same, only with minor differences.

Rin scoffed in her mind. Minor. Indeed. it wa a very minor difference that the heroine was now a fifteen year old girl, the wolf really a man with the nickname wolf thanks to his little "pet" collection who was trying to pursue red, and the woodcutter a young man who had suddenly turned into a love interest. The only simularity was the stupid red cape! And the grandmother's house in the woods! The wealthy, reclusive grandmother. BAH! Stupid school and it's need to be different! Why couldn't they have just done something like Snow White? Snow White was simple, it was hard to change. If one ignored that one movie where the dwarves were actually normal sized men except for the one that was like six four who Snow White fell in love with and he did with her too. And the possessed baby bit was scary too... But other than that it was still better than this version of Little Red Riding Hood they had found!

Kohaku poked her in the side and her attention returned back to class.

"... Red shall be played by Rin Takami, The woodcutter by a senior named..."

"Wait!" Rin said suddenly. Everyone turned in their seats to look at her.

"Yes Miss Takami?" Ms. Kuriko said, adjusting her glasses.

"Um...Don't we get to decide our parts? Like...sign up for them?"

"Well, if you had been listening earlier rather than staring off into the distance you would have heard me say that those with the top grades in this class are chosen to be the actors. Which means all A students are the actors, whereas B or lower get to help with the stage props. They get to choose what they do, but acting is a very serious thing and this play is going to be televised on the local channels. We need the best for this, and you are one of the best."

"Oh..." She sat back down, blushing as a few students snickered. Before she could bother listening to the rest her mind wandered again, this time to a tall young man with long silver hair...

oooooooooo

...who was currently staring at the clock in his trigonometry class, willing it to ring so he could get on with his day. His work was already done, and he was now bored senseless. Even his best friend Kouga was finished, and seeing as he was normally one of the last done, that means the bell should be...

**_BONGBONGBONGBONGBONG_**

The students immediately began shuffling their stuff together and turning in papers. Sesshomaru was one of the first out the door and into the halls, Kouga quickly at his side.

"Is it just me Sessh, or does it seem like it's gonna be a long day today?" He asked casually, earning a noncommital grunt in reply. Before Kouga could start speaking again an announcement came on over the PA.

"_The students of the second,third and seventh blocks of the drama department are to report to room 101 during the fourth block of the day. Teachers have already been notified of this change of scheduling and the students will be allowed to make up any missed work. Thank you and have a good day!" _

"Yep...long day..." Kouga said with a roll of his eyes as they changed their route to go to a different class than normal.

oooooooooo

Apparently the schedule change had been a bad one. Second and third blocks were already large on their own, but now with seventh block in there as well the room was packed. Most of the students were on the floor or sitting randomly on the tables around the room, chatting about their day as they waited for the bell to ring. Kouga immediately spied his crush Kagome sitting in the corner of the room with Sesshomaru's brother and Kikyo, his brothers ex, and made a beeline towards them. Sesshomaru held back the urge to roll his eyes and looked about the room for a place to sit. And then there it was, the one chair left not taken by a student thanks to a rather large backpack sitting in it. He walked over and removed the offending bag, then took a seat next to the small girl sitting there. She looked over when she heard the thump of her bag on the floor.

"Hey!" She said, grabbing her bag and smoothing it over as though he had ruined it. He quirked an eyebrow when he noticed it was the girl from earlier.

"Hello midget." He said, turning to face her. She glared at him.

"I am most definitely _not_ a midget." She said, giving a delicate sniff in emphasis. He immediately did a size comparison by placing his hands on her shoulders, then keeping them the same distance apart he moved them over to be about even with his own shoulders. She was literally half his size.

"That doesn't prove anything!"

His hands moved again, this time grabbing one of hers and forcing them together, palm to palm. His hand dwarfed hers. She gave a harumphing sound and sat back in her chair.

"So I'm tiny, what of it? That doesn't make me a midget!"

"Hn..." Was his reply. The bell rang for class and their teacher ran in looking flustered.

"Sorry about that, Mr. Oshi...Never mind, you don't need to know about that irritating, stubborn prat."

A few female students giggled. It was well-known that Mr. Oshiro fancied Ms. Kuriko seeing as the students who had the english class with him had seen him come in after lunch with tons of flowers, only to see him come in looking sad and dejected a few minutes later rambling about how she would never love him. Other teachers took bets on when they would get together or when Ms. Kuriko would finally kill him, jokingly of course, while half the student body was out to either help him get her or help her avoid him. Whatever the side one thing was obvious. Mr. Oshiro was in love, and Ms. Kuriko hated him.

"Anyways, I'm glad to see that _most _of you came to class instead of going to your regulars, and I'm sure that most of you are wondering what this play is about. Well..."

A late student ran through the doors, red hair bouncing in its pigtails as she went to the teacher and handed her a tardy note.

"Thank you Ayame." Ms. Kuriko said as Ayame ran off to go join her best friend, Kanna on the floor. "Anyways, as I was saying, this play is a spoof of Little Red Riding Hood titled Little Red, A Mockery, and the story is..."

oooooooooo

Unfortunately I have to stop here seeing as I cannot reveal the story of "Little Red, A Mockery" without revealing the rest of the story. For those of you who have read "Petals in the Wind," yes, this is another tons of couples thing. I can't help it, I love romance:cuddles anything remotely romantic: Yay! Romance!

Yes, Sesshy is gonna be OOC, as is Rin, but not as much as I could make them. For example:

Sessh- :cuddles Rin: MINE!

Rin- :trying to get away: No! I don't like being touched!

Sessh- :cuddles some more: MINE!

Rin- NO! STOP IT! SIT BOY!

Sessh- :falls to ground thanks to subjication beads suddenly appearing around neck: Owww...

Rin- FLOWERS:runs away to pick flowers:

See? In the manga/anime he's not cuddly and freakishly possessive, and Rin would never "sit" him or say say she doesn't like being touched in response to a good cuddle. Or at least I hope not... Anyways, read and review!

Thanks to **graceful kitten, simplyelena, 'loha, Ryouki's Slave, animegirl007, chel bel, Psycho-Neurotically Disturb...,** and** Lady Knight19. **


	3. Giving and Taking

Rin grumbled when she realized that thanks to most students having after school jobs, the scheduled time to prepare for the play was in the morning. Which meant that she had to get up by four thirty at least, be at school by five to have time for breakfast, and be in the auditorium by five thirty, which was when rehearsal started. What made it worse was that the guy with the silver hair, _Sesshomaru, _was to be the woodcutter. Which meant that she had to...BAH! Stupid school and it's need to be different.

She scowled darkly at the idiot who honked at her on her way home, and made a threatening gesture to the others. Why was it that no one female could walk in peace? Was it necessary to make catcalls and attempt to pick up anything with breasts if one was a man? Bah! Horny idiots!

She ripped off a large tree-limb when another driver made a rather rude comment about "giving her a good ride" which caused him to drive away rather quickly. Fotrtunately a few other drivers noticed as well and the lewd comments died down for a bit. She breathed a sigh of relief at the relative peace of her walk. Until a silver Ferrari Mussaglia honked it's horn and pulled up next to her. She glanced over as darkly tinted windows rolled down to reveal the driver.

"Rin right?"

"Hello Sesshomaru."

"Need a ride?"

"No."

So much for a peaceful walk. Now her so called _savior _was interfering with her life. The precious moments between school, home , and work were too highly cherished to...

"I'm not going to rape you."

Without further ado she burst into laughter. His tone of voice had been serious but how often was it you heard those words come from someone trying to pick you up in the side of the road? Angry car horns sounded behind him but he ignored them, continuing to drive at the speed she was walking. She stopped and turned to look at him. His expression was an honest one, if a bit emotionless, and his pose suggested that he seriously would give her a ride home if she said yes without any mishaps happening along the way. Now that she thought about it, if he actually_ did_ try anything all she would have to do is report him to the principal and regardless of his senior status, he would still be put on probabtion and charges probably brought up. He would be a fool to try anything. A big fool.

Angry horns assaulted his ears as she stood there, deep in thought. Sesshomaru was quite amazed by the sheer audacity of this girl, holding up traffic the way she was. In a far unheard of corner of his mind a little voice said that since he owned the car, and had stopped it in the middle of the road to allow her to think, he was technically the one holding up traffic, but he ignored it. After all, moments like this, where pretty girls seriously thought about him in a manner other than "Ooh, hot bod" and proceeded to drool were rare. Not that he was saying she was pretty! No, no, not at all! She was actually quite plain with her rich dark hair cascading down her back in loose waves, and that adora...er...icky...looking...ponytail on the side of her head was quite cute...icky. Yes. Icky. In a cute manner. Coupled with her large,slightly slanted eyes with thick black lashes and warm brown coloring she was quite common. Indeed. He nodded to himself as if further prove his point to himself.

Without being aware of it she hopped into his car and looked at him expectantly, her face inches from his. He blinked when he realized what had just happened and the frown lifted from his brow.

"I...I'm only offering you a ride because we need to discuss rehearsing our parts for the play." He said a little too quickly to be honest. She gave him a wide smile.

"_Sure buddy..."_ She said, and reminded him of where they were by proceeding to set the car in overdrive.

oooooooooo

_'So this is one of the most awkward silences I've ever endured in my life...' _Rin thought to herself as she drummed her nails on the dashboard. Other than her mentioning her address conversation had gone to a dull nothingness. She looked over at her "savior" and withheld a grin. He seemed a little embarrassed about something, although his features didn't really give it away. If she hadn't been looking at his eyes she would have thought that he didn't think at all.

"So...," She began, finally causing him to turn his head to look at her. The words died in her throat when she saw how brilliantly gold his eyes were. She honestly hadn't noticed before. "You have lovely eyes!" She blurted out, then clapped a hand over her mouth. "Er...I mean, they're just...um...different from what you usually see today and..."

"You needn't panic about complimenting someone you know. Thank you, you do too." He responded before she could continue embarrassing herself further. "as to that study date, er, rehearsal time, we need to schedule. When are you open?"

"Never."

"Excuse me?"

"Well, I have to be at work in half an hour, then I get off at midnight, usually later because of overtime, wake up at five, get ready for the day, go to school, go home, go to work, go home, go to school, go..."

"I get it, I get it. You never do anything other than work. Right. What's your day off?"

"Thursday, then I have to babysit for my next door neighbor because they go out to eat once a week and they have five kids, ages 5-9."

"That ends...?"

"At three a.m."

"...Do you ever have any time to yourself?"

"No. Did I mention I also clean the house, cook for the family and pay half the bills?"

Sesshomaru's mouth fell open just a little. What on earth? Was she a workaholic or was money that needed in her family? Maybe it was both. She could give his dad a run for his money and that was saying a lot seeing as the old man was never home except to sleep. Actually, they sounded as though they were on parrwith each other. Maybe they'd get along. Workaholic meet workaholic. Have fun discussing your never-sleep-it-loses-money lifestyles. His mouth turned down in a bitter twist.

"Ask your boss for the day off today." He said in a don't-defy-my-will tone of voice.

Rin blinked. But she made eight dollars an hour! Plus the tips customers slipped her regardless of the no tipping sign! If she didn't work she'd lose at least 150 if not 200 dollars for that night! She glared at him as they pulled up in front of her house.

"No."

"But..."

"No, the money is more important than a stupid school play."

"A play that lasts nearly four hours and is to be televised, plus the talent scouts in the crowd."

"Oh so that's it. Plans to be an actor being messed up by some poor girl? Too bad, I need the money more than you need your time!" She opened the door and hopped out before he could respond, and closed it with a slam. He watched her walk into her house in a huff, grimacing. She didn't seem to realize that most of the people in Drama were exactly what she accused him of being, aspiring actors. But his problem was his grade, not his future. She probably hadn't heard what the teacher said while stuck in her apathy bubble, but those who didn't participate failed the class. Failure was not acceptable in anything he did.

Almost angrily he revved up his car and sped down the street.

oooooooooo

Yeah...I'm sorry that I didn't update in forever on anything I've been writing, but school started and I've been loaded down, a bit like Rin. Only babysitting is my work and when it comes to staying off the computer to avoid having my nieces pour thier bottle in it versus getting online and ruining my life, I'd rather not update. I'll try to, I promise that much, but they'll be slow.

Please read and review anyways.


	4. Family

At work Rin seriously contemplated Sesshomaru's words that she ask for an extra night off to work on the play. After all, she did work six days a week, sometimes seven. And her boss, while thankful for the extra help, did mention an awful lot about how many labor laws she was forcing him to break. But the only time she wasn't very busy at home was mid-week, and then the bar/restaurant was packed. Granted the amount of customers was no where near what they drew in on the week-ends, but it was still pretty busy.

"Um…boss?" She said to a tall, beautiful, blonde woman after her shift was over. She turned, obviously flustered.

"Can it wait a moment Rin, Jing-wei just called to let me know that she can't show up tonight and I'm looking for spare help." Sparrow answered, her name nowhere matching her appearance.

"I could help."

"Rin, that's really nice of you but her shift ends at five in the morning. You wouldn't get any sleep tonight."

"That's okay, I've learned to cope. But um…well…I was wondering if I could take Wednesdays off for the next two months."

Her boss gave her a stunned look. Work-till-you-drop Rin asking for a day off? Was the world ending?

"Who's dying?" She asked her favorite employee, half joking, half serious.

"Nobody, it's just that the school has a play that's going to be on television and I really need rehearsal time with the other thespians."

"Ooh, what's it called."

"Little Red, a Mockery."

"As in Riding Hood? Why's it a mockery?"

"Because I'm an older Red and I end up marrying the woodcutter."

"Awww….Go home."

"But Jing-wei-"

"I'll work for her if I need to. You need the sleep, and yes, you can have Wednesdays off. Take more than two months though."

"But-"

"Don't sass me young lady, you need this and you know it."

"But-"

"Don't make me call Eduard to force you out of here and to your house."

Rin gave a discontented grumble, but did as Sparrow said. "Thanks for understanding my need for time off." She said on her way out.

"I hardly understand your need to work so much." Sparrow answered, then yelled at an overly friendly customer who was attempting to grope her rather feminine, and embarrassed looking barman. "That's a man asshole! Don't touch my workers or you'll be outta here!"

ooooooooo

"Dad, Kanna I'm home!" Rin announced as she entered the door. As usual Naraku, her father, was sprawled drunk on the couch, and Kanna, being her silent self didn't answer. Either that or she was asleep in her room already. When she arrived upstairs her little brother Aeul was asleep on her bed again. On the floor were some sketches he had done while she was gone, and Rin looked at them, once again amazed over his talent. He was only nine, but his ability to draw from real life was extraordinary. Her dads face, smiling and happy in one picture was bit unusual, seeing as her father rarely smiled. Kanna was the same way, and it showed in the somber lines and shading of her sisters sitting body. Then there was the old tree at the park, yet again. It seemed to be his favorite thing to draw, with it's knarled, twisted and blackened trunk and branches. To be honest the tree always looked dead, even though in the summer dark green leaves covered it. He had made hundreds of pictures of it.

As quietly as she could manage she picked up her laundry basket and took it into the laundry room. Silently she took her sisters clothes out and placed them in the dryer, then folded her dads clothes after placing hers in the washer and turning it on. At two-thirty she took her now clean clothes back to her room and hung them up, placing the things in drawers that couldn't be hung. Kagura stumbled in when she was in the shower, tired and worn out from working overtime at the nearby 24- hour supermarket. She knocked on the door to the bathroom.

"Rin, are you in there?"

"Yeah."

"Can I come in real quick?"

Rin rolled her eyes and hopped out of the shower to unlock the door. Before her sister came in she was back in, the curtain closed.

"Thanks, I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

Kagura sat on the closed toilet seat and leaned back her head.

"Onigumo's been let out of juvy."

"Oh, no…"

"Oh, yes, and he'll be back in school next week."

"Shit."

"You can say that again."

Onigumo was Kagura's ex…something. They had been friends, but things had changed to a more intimate relationship the previous fall. But then Onigumo had become possessive, and violent to any guy or girl that even touched Kagura, even though they weren't really dating. When they had found out he was on drugs they tried to help him, but he just became worse. He ruined all of Kagura's friendships so that her affection was limited to him, and alienated her from her family by making sure she didn't come home after work, even though she wanted to. For a full three months he had made Kagura's life hell, even being physically violent to her if she looked at another man. When he was busted in a drug deal it had been a relief. At sixteen though, they had sent him to the Juvenile Detention Center instead of prison.

"A year…dear God. I don't know what to do Rin. He's sent me letters from juvy, but I've never opened them. I know he'll be on probation, but Rin, what if he wants to be with me again."

"As far as I know he never was _with_ you. Sure you two had sex, but he never asked you out. AND he cheated on you while you were sort-of together. AND he tried to seduce Kanna."

Kanna had been in middle school then, and had been repulsed and angry over Onigumo's suggestions. It had been a rare but deadly temper she had shown then, nearly killing Onigumo for daring to touch her or speak to her the way he had. He still had a scar near his heart where she stabbed him.

"I know Rin, I know…but…I-I'm s-so scared." Kagura answered, breaking into tears over the memory of her once good friend. "A-and I miss him. I kn-know it s-sounds stra-ange b-but…he used to be s-s-so nice and g-good."

Rin quickly turned off the shower, not bothering to remove all the conditioner from her hair. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself, then hopped out and wrapped her arms around her older sisters back as she sobbed. She whispered words of comfort to Kagura, but they were hollow.

What if Onigumo did want her sister back?

oooooooooo

A/N: Yay! I finally updated! So how do you like this peek into Rin's home life? Her and Kagura are the family's supports, seeing as Kanna and Aeul (Owl) are still too young to work, and their dad is always drunk. Btw, Naraku and Onigumo are not the same people in this, nor are they related. And it's Onigumo who's bad. Naraku is just kind of… "I exist, who cares?" and does as he likes. But he has his moments.

More updates after this! Stay tuned and review!

Thanks to: **Marcel Ang, Simplyelena, Psycho-Neurotically Disturbed, Premier Archange, Death's Razor Blade, graceful kitten, bellpepper, **and **Murasaki Mice.**


	5. Girlfriend?

The next morning Rin ran up to Sesshomaru outside the front of the school, while he was in talking to Kouga and some other silver haired guy. She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention and was rewarded with the stunned silence from the other two. She ignored their whispers of:

"Did the amazing icicle get a girlfriend?"

"No, I think she has a crush on him."

"She _touched_ him, no one does that."

"That's because he's too busy doing it himself."

Ribald laughter followed the comment. She ignored it and said what she came to.

"I have Wednesdays off now, and no further commitments on those days."

Behind them the whispers turned into stunned commentary that went along the lines of:

"OMG, he HAS got a girlfriend."

"Don't be daft, he's probably paying her to…service him."

"Then why are they making plans for a date?"

"They're not, they're asking whose house they should do it at. MOM WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DARE!"

Both Rin and Sesshomaru ignored the two, though, and Rin looked skyward as though in deep thought.

"Well…My dad'll be home, so it's not a good idea to go to my house…" She said slowly, as the two in the background let out loud gasps. "But I hardly know you so I'm kind of scared to do it there…"

"Do it? DO IT?" Kouga interjected.

Sesshomaru was abruptly pulled about ten feet from Rin, an amusing expression of indignant surprise on his face. He was then forced into the side of the building.

"Do it? Do what exactly? Since when did you have a girlfriend?" Kouga asked Sesshomaru, giving him a slight shake. Sesshomaru finally remembered his friend and brother had been there all along for the conversation. He smirked at them.

"I don't." Inuyasha's eyes got large in the background. Sesshomaru let that sink in for a moment, then spoke again right before either of them could say anything about illicit activities. "She's Red."

Kouga looked shocked for a moment, then let out a howl of laughter.

"Oh man! And here I thought-well, Inuyasha thought too-Oh, god I forgot the play existed!"

Inuyasha just gave blank looks at them both, then turned to Rin and stuck out a hand.

"Hi Red, I'm Inuyasha, Sesshomaru's younger brother." Rin grinned and shook his hand.

"I'm actually Rin. It's nice to meet you Inuyasha. May I?" Without bothering to explain what she was asking she stood on tiptoe and grabbed both his fuzzy ears on top of his head. "There just as soft as they look!" She said happily, rubbing them in content and ignoring the huge crowd that had gathered when they thought Kouga and Sesshomaru were going to fight.

"Ack!" Inuyasha said, then attempted to run away, but to no avail. After about ten minutes Rin let go of his ears, then giggled in delight.

"Those are so awesome and adorable!" She exclaimed, then turned to Sesshomaru. "Your house."

"After school?"

"Yes."

"Good."

The bell rang for them to go to class.

oooooooooo

"Inuyasha!" He halted mid stride on his way to his fourth block class and turned. "What's this I hear about a fight, and something about you getting rubbed?" Kagome Higurashi, high-schooler said.

"It was just my ears…"

"And the fight…"

"There was none. Kouga shoved Sesshomaru in a wall, that's all."

"You weren't involved?"

"Indirectly. I am related to the ice cube after all. He's got a girlfriend now, who's name is Rin, but everyone calls her Red."

Kagome slapped her forehead. Yura had had her believing that Inuyasha had found a new girlfriend and had fought of nearly an army to have her. And now this…how dense can one person be…?

"Inu-kun. Rin plays Red in the "Little Red, A Mockery" play, You're brother is the woodcutter." Enlightenment dawned on the face of the hanyou.

"Wait, so they're not hooking up at my house after school?"

"No, they're practicing lines. In fact, Kouga might join them later, if he remembers that he's actually in the play."

"Kouga's in the play?"

"Yes, he's the big, bad wolf."

Inuyasha started laughing uproariously at that. "Wait…a wolf demon, is pretending to be a wolf?"

Kagome thought about it for a second. That was kind of amusing.

Meanwhile, a few feet from them Kouga had just wandered up to say hello when he heard his name. He stayed silent until Kagome mentioned that he was in the play. Then he let out a gasp. He had forgotten! Crap!

Quickly he rummaged through his bag to see if he still had his lines.

Check.

His eyes narrowed. This would be an excellent opportunity for him to spy on Sess and his new girlfriend…

oooooooooo

A/N: Look! An update!

And woah, did I get a ton of reviewsand watches. Or maybe it just seems that way, I'll start counting. Hmm... O.O TEN REVIEWS FOR ONE CHAPTER! HOLY COW::glomps you all::

Thanks to: **Lord Sesshomaru-Sama, premierarchange, simplyelena, fire angel8, Scarren, ladywisdom, Death's-Razor-Blade, JENN2418, gracefulkitten, **and** Psycho-Neurotically Disturbed **(still not dead!).


	6. Practice doesn't make perfect

Rin sweat dropped when Sesshomaru's car pulled in front of the school shortly before the last bell rang. When the bell rang she ran outside quickly. The passenger side door opened and she climbed in, looking at him expectantly. He neither drove off, nor said anything about why he had apparently skipped his last block. She coughed to get his attention.

"So er…where were you?" She asked when he looked over.

"How do you mean?" He replied. The back door opened and Inuyasha hopped in, dragging Kagome along with him.

"Thanks for the ride man, it's needed. Kagome's going with…" Inuyasha saw Rin in the front seat and gave a friendly grin. "Hi! What's the icicle like?"

"Um…who are you talking about?" Rin asked, genuinely confused. She had done a better job of ignoring him and Koga that morning than she had thought.

"Sessh."

"He's not made of ice. He's made of meat. Like cats or worms or-"

"I'm an inu-youkai Rin. Not a cat or a worm." Sesshomaru interjected, not liking the comparison much.

"But you're still made of meat."

The engine revved and the car sped away. Kagome leaned forward, and smiled brightly.

"So, I'm Kagome, Inuyasha's girlfriend. And you must be the girl playing red in the play. Is it true that Kouga's gonna maul you?"

"Er…"

"I mean, wow! That's so cool! Don't get me wrong, I love Inu-kun, but Kouga's so hot. Half the girls in school want him, and you get to not only practice pretending nearly getting ravished by him, but you get to perform it too."

"Ka-go-meeeeeeee!" Inuyasha complained.

"Oh, be quiet. When was the last time you ravished me? If I remember correctly, and I do, it's always me being the dominant one."

"Ka-go-meeeeeeeee! Don't say stuff like tha-"

"I mean, rawr! Those bright blue eyes, and that lovely tanned skin of his, and all those muscles from running track, and he's so tall-"

"How exactly do you know he's gonna ravish me?" Rin asked, generally confused. Kagome wasn't in the play. She earned an innocent look from the perky girl.

"I may or may not have snuck into the drama department and borrowed a copy of the play without asking. Have you read it yet?"

"I skimmed through it."

"So…do you know the plot?"

"Kind of. I know it's a fairy-tale romance with modern twists and more adult themes."

"Is that all you know?"

"Well, I did highlight my lines and any place the name "Red" appeared."

Kagome sweat dropped.

"I see I have to give you a debriefing." You see, Red, one day as you are…

oooooooooo

Rin couldn't do this. There was no way. Her physical contact with others was usually retained to hugs, pecks on the cheek or mouth, and bumping into people in the halls or at work. But no…life didn't want to work her way. It was taking full advantage of her grades in class, and talent in acting, even though she had normally stuck to more reserved parts that didn't call for much stage time.

After Kagome and Inuyasha had wandered off to go study, and possibly make out, Rin had taken a _real_ good look at Sesshomaru and realized that she was going to be acting with him as her romantic interest. She had promptly become worried. Not by such trivial things like height difference, although he would have to bend down quite a bit to kiss her, and she would have to stand on tip toes. No, no. This was much worse.

She wasn't sure how much was going to be acting, and how much was going to be real. Which was a problem, because good thespians don't get confused in the line between business and pleasure. They can mix the two easily, but confusion is a bad thing.

Sesshomaru had taken it all in stride though. He had informed her that yes, he had read it, and no, he did not approve of destroying classic stories with modern mumbo jumbo. He hadn't said mumbo jumbo though, he said depravity. But he seemed to accept the fact, without reacting, that he would have to…seduce…her…

Her cheeks flushed bright red as she read the scene they would inevitably have to practice together. It wasn't overly sexual, but for a girl of Rin's experience it seemed a bit much. Too much for a high school play, actually. But then again, it was originally meant for college students.

She looked up at Sesshomaru, who was busy typing up something on his laptop while she reviewed the play and her lines. They had agreed on a full read through the first time, which wasn't too shocking. It was easier to get a feel for a character in the whole the first time around, rather than in bits and pieces.

But if they were gonna go through the entire play the first time acting together…

Oh snap.

oooooooooo

He was better than she had thought. His faintly icy demeanor obviously hid a great talent…and lack of shame.

"I shall cut down this wolf then, my darling." He said, his voice passionate and angry. She shook her head and placed an imploring hand on his arm.

"No, woodsman, I could not bear-" Her eyes were teary, small chest heaving in repressed sobs as her voice shook.

"He has dishonored you. I must make him pay." He glared down fiercely at her, then blinked a few times, trying to remember the next line. After a moment of indecision he glanced down at the script, then quickly looked back up and grabbed the hand on his arm, pulling her close. His face leaned close to hers, as the script called for.

"He tried to take what should be mine." Sesshomaru's voice was soft and intense, his eyes focused on her face. "He tried to compromise the…girl I love," He had hesitated when he wasn't supposed to," and force her to wed him to save her reputation. Oh, Red…I am a simple man. But a man nonetheless. By touching you, he's insulted me. I must-"

"No! If you die, I-"

He kissed her, while her mouth was still open, just as the script called for.

Without meaning to, Rin laughed against his lips. He moved away, humor in his eyes. She began helplessly giggling, her sides aching as she backed away.

"I…I'm sorry, but the words and the action and…it's like some cheesy porno or cheap smut novel." She said, laughing harder.

"I know. The words are unnatural."

She nodded, forcing the laughter away. He gave a small smile.

"The goal is to not laugh when one or the other gets kissed." He said, and she nodded again. "Also, if you laugh at being kissed, I'd hate to see what happens when Kouga gets a hold of you."

"I didn't mean to." Her voice was small, innocent, and cute.

"I know. Let's try again."

When they restarted the botched scene, she did better this time, only giggling a little when he kissed her. When she kissed him back, as called for in the script, the door opened and a light flashed.

oooooooooo

A/N: It is true, in acting, that all kissing scenes, when practiced the first time, will inevitably lead to laughter. Whether it's where to put your hands, the dialogue, how well you know your lines, or the other actor, or something else, acting out a kiss the first time will always make you laugh. It's a mystery that plagues thespians to this day.

Hope you enjoyed. Read and review, as always. Thanks to: **Psycho Neurotically Disturbed (**check out "Student Teacher Relations" by this author), **Moonsky, Murasaki Mice, Scarren, graceful kitten, TheMagicalTeddyBearOfKandiLand, Death's-Razor-Blade, FluffyRinlover, simplyelena, **and** bookfreak13.**


	7. Picture Perfect

**_A/N: _**Ye gods it's been forever. I bet you guys are at the "kill Odi" stage of this story. I apologize, but I fear I must warn you. I have 17 stories on my userpage, 5 of which are works in progress. On top of that, I have 26 original stories I work on, much more frequently than my fanfictions. I'm afraid they take precedence, when I can get the time to work on them. I work full-time, and am a constant babysitter to whichever one of my numerous nieces and nephews (15 in total) is over at the time. On my days off, I usually babysit, or try to hang out with my lone friend. Yes, lone friend. I have one, due to numerous backstabbings by other so-called "friends." My free-time is practically nil. I do try though, but I fear this may take a while, much like "Petals in the Wind." 19 chapters, TWO YEARS. As much as I love reviews, I won't take offense if you decide to stray for a few chapters, or until I finish it.

In the meantime, thanks for reading.

I do not own, or claim to own the series "Inuyasha" nor any characters or personages within. This story is non-profit.

ooooooooooooo

They both turned, almost comical expressions of shock on their faces. Kouga stood grinning in the doorway, a camera held in his hands. He smiled at it lecherously.

"Ooh, the sweet scent of blackmail…" He said, giving the camera a good sniff. Rin turned red in embarrassment, then grew angry.

"Why you little…" Without hesitating she lunged herself at him, and proceeded to choke him Simpson's style. Sesshomaru just quirked an eyebrow at the pair, trying desperately to figure out how Kouga was going to pull off an attempted seduction on stage, when he so clearly had the lower hand in real life.

Choking soon turned to pummeling, and then a desperate battle for the camera. Like Kouga, Rin apparently had her own claws, and knew how to use them fairly well. Within a few seconds he was lying on the floor, his face a mess of scratches, and the camera held triumphantly up in the air.

"VENI, VEDI, VICI!" She claimed victoriously, then took a good look at the camera. A sour expression crossed her face. "I was going to smash it…but a Canon EOS is too precious and wonderful to smash…" She turned to look at Kouga. "So I'll settle for deleting all your files."

"What? No! You can't-" He said, right before the Beep. Beep. Beep. "NOOOOO! My photography!"

Rin cackled, earning a frightened looking look from Kouga.

"Are you sure you're cut out for this role? Aren't you a little opposite from nice?" He said stupidly, and then was kicked in the knee's.

"I'd be nicer if you were." She said, and he gave a smug smile.

"Nice like Sesshomaru?" He replied, and made a kissy face. Sesshomaru threw a rock at him. Where the rock came from, nobody knew. It wasn't like he had a collection under his bed or anything.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, sitting on the bed. Kouga stood up and brushed some imaginary lint off his shirt.

"I heard you were practicing, decided I needed to get in on this, and-"

"Kagome called you and reminded you that you were in the play, right?" Sesshomaru broke in, his voice bland and his face equally so. Kouga sweat dropped as Sesshomaru continued. "My guess is that were at some coffee shop with yet another girl you won't recall the next morning, and who is probably ten years your senior."

"How did you-"

"You're a slut."

Rin laughed at Kouga's mock offended expression. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes into golden slits.

"Whore." He said slowly, earning even more laughter from Rin. "Skank. Trick. Prostitute. Hussy. Light-skirt." With each word the laughter became stronger, until she fell back into the chair in front of the desk and held up a hand for mercy.

"Please…no more.." She begged, tears at the corner of her eyes. "I can't take anymore. Oh, that last one. How old is that insult?"

Sesshomaru looked up in contemplation. "I think it originated sometime around the 1700's. I know it's English, but I'm not too sure of the date." The laughter abruptly died and Rin stared at him in mute shock. "What?"

"You actually knew the answer." She said slowly.

"Not in entirety. The etymology of that particular phrase is lost on me. I'm more suited to the history of words, not complete phrases."

Kouga's eyebrows went up. "Nerd." He said clearly. Rin nodded.

"How smart are you?" She asked.

"He makes perfect grades in everything." Kouga replied.

"That's not what I asked. I asked how smart he is. IQ wise."

"My IQ is 162." Sesshomaru said.

"…If I kiss you without laughing, will you do my algebra?"

"I second that."

"Kouga…not only are you a slut, you're borderline fag too."

Rin started laughing again. "Stop this! We need to concentrate on not sucking! From the top!" She exclaimed, punching a fist in the air for emphasis. Line practice resumed.

oooooooooo

For the next few weeks, it was if they had totally turned into different people. Sesshomaru, encouraged by Rin's exuberance and clumsiness, could be seen smiling every once in a while, at least for a second before his usual blank look returned. Kouga was actually paying attention in class. Well…not all of them, just Drama, which had become as fascinating as older women ever since he realized he was to practice mauling Rin, over, and over, and over, and over.

Sesshomaru wasn't sure how he stomached the site of the giggling, blushing girl as Kouga pawed at her. Largely because he just really disliked seeing Kouga all over her, and he was still having a hard time trying to figure out if she meant the giggles, or not.


End file.
